Sartell V18 I16

Sartell V18 I16

Sartell Newsleader April 19, 2013

Newsleader
Sartell
Postal Patron
Reaching Everybody!
Presorted Standard U.S. Postage Paid St. Joseph Newsleader St. Joseph, MN 56374 Permit No. 21 ECRWSS Postal Customer
Friday, April 19, 2013
Volume 18, Issue 16 Est. 1995
Sartell runners OK after Boston Marathon blasts
by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com
Town Crier
Community ed offers Lyme Disease class
“Lyme Disease: You’re Not Alone,” will be held from 6-9 p.m. Monday, May 6 in the Sartell School District Service Center Watab Room. Support and share with each other the struggles that come with this disease and its effect on the body. The dramatic documentary, “Under Our Skin,” which focuses on the epidemic of chronic Lyme disease will be viewed. Advanced registration is required. Call 320-253-4036.
The four Sartell runners who participated in the Boston Marathon April 15 are thankfully all safe and sound, according to
several sources. The four are Jereme Fimrite, Shane Johnson, Curt Karolus and Laura Nordby. The area near the finish line of Monday’s Boston Marathon, usually the scene of much jubilation, instantly turned into a horrify-
ing scene of carnage when two bombs exploded. As of press time, three people had died from the blast, including an 8-year-old boy, Martin Richard, from Dorchester, Mass. He was watching from the sidewalk
‘If I were a rich man...’
Sabres Booster Club hosts spring social
The Sabres All-Sports Booster Club Spring Social will be held from 8-11 p.m. Friday, April 19 at Blackberry Ridge Golf Course, 3125 Clubhouse Road, Sartell. The group wishes to thank the many parents and friends for their continued support of Sartell athletics throughout the years. The event offers free food and fun with a social, silent auction and membership kick-off for the 2013-14 school year.
photo by Jack Hellie
Motorcycle training schedule now online
Motorcycle rider training courses are available for new and experienced riders April-October. The Office of Traffic Safety is investing federal grants totaling more than $7 million to 317 law enforcement agencies and community partner groups for enforcement and education campaigns. With the rise in the number of rider fatalities in 2012, rider training is a critical and potentially lifesaving option. New and experienced riders can benefit from a wide range of affordable training courses to earn a motorcycle license, build and hone crash-avoidance skills, learn bike maintenance and more. Training is available at 30 MnSCU sites across Minnesota. For more information, visit www.thenewsleaders.com and click on Criers.
Sartell High School senior Ben Maurer rehearses his role as Tevye, one of the main characters in the the musical “Fiddler on the Roof.” The high school’s spring play will be performed tonight through Saturday, April 20. Show times are 7 p.m. each night, as well as a 12:30 p.m. show Saturday. Tickets are available at the door before each performance.
Perske gives upbeat ‘State of the City’ address
by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com
with his mother and 10-year-old sister when the first bomb exploded. The mother and sister were gravely injured, and the sister’s leg had to be amputated. The children were there with their mother to see their father, Bill, who was one of the runners. There were about 176 injured, including 10 children. Fortunately, all the injured children have been released from hospitals. Some of the injuries caused by shrapnel were so severe that amputations were required. In some cases, the force of the blast itself literally tore the limbs off of some of the people. Most of the injured were spectators cheering on runners as they approached the finish line. Many people at the scene said it was like instantly being thrust into the middle of the carnage of war. Investigators are calling the two bombings an act of terrorism, but they do not know if the perpetrator(s) are domestic or foreign. They are combing the scene for evidence that may lead them to the bomber or bombers. An estimated 20,000 runners participated in the event, which is now 117 years old. The Sartell Newsleader plans to interview one or more of the Sartell runners when they return home.
In his annual “State of the City” address, Sartell Mayor Joe Perske had mostly good news to share with his listeners. Perske was guest speaker recently at the monthly luncheon
meeting of the Sartell Area Chamber of Commerce. A m o n g Perske’s comments are the Perske following:
Sartell residents continue to pay the lowest in property taxes of the five cities in the area – St. Cloud, St. Joseph, Waite Park and Sauk Rapids. The city’s spending levels are also the lowest in the area. Sartell’s tax increases have remained fairly flat during the past 10 years.
Last year’s property tax totaled about $4 million. The rest of the money used to run the city comes from fees for licenses, permits and from forms of state and federal aid and grants. The city staff and council, Perske said, do an excellent Perske • page 4
SWCD seeks landowners for wetland restoration
Board reinstates spring break April snow showers bring day of fun
by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com Next year, students will get a five-day spring break at schools in the Sartell-St.Stephen School District. On Monday night, the school board approved the calendar for the 2013-14 school year. It includes a five-day spring break for the last week of March and two three-day weekends in February and April. School will begin Sept. 3, 2013 and end June 4, 2014. Board member Mary McCabe voted against the spring-break reinstatement. The topic of spring break has been a contentious issue for many months in the district, ever since the former school board voted to end it last year. There was a public outcry against that decision, with many claiming there was not enough input before the decision was made. When a new school board was elected last November (four new members on it), the board quickly implemented new policies designed to enhance more transparent communications with the public. One of those policies was to form a school-calendar committee of parents, school staff and school administrators. The committee recommended to the board the reinstatement of
The Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District is partnering with the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources to locate landowners who are interested in completing a wetland restoration project on their property. Those who complete a wetland restoration project will generate wetland credits that can be used to offset wetland impacts resulting from qualifying road improvement and rehabilitation projects in Minnesota. BWSR has $5 million for wetland restoration projects. For more information, visit www.thenewsleaders.com and click on Criers.
contributed photo
Appliance Smart
INSERT:
Break • page 8
Lily, Natalie and Shelby Rahm (left to right) of Sartell enjoyed a fun snow day.
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If any readers have tips concerning crimes, they should call the Sartell Police Department at 320-251-8186 or Tri-County Crime Stoppers at 320255-1301 or access its tip site at www. tricountycrimestoppers.org. Crime Stoppers offers rewards up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for crimes. March 29 10:04 p.m. Traffic stop. Riverside Avenue. A vehicle was witnessed traveling 49 mph in a posted 30-mph zone. The driver stated he was not aware of his speed. He was issued a citation and released. 11:42 p.m. Domestic. A report was made of a male and female arguing while the male was throwing items around the home. Officers were able to calm both of the parties down while a third party arrived to stay with the couple. March 30 9:51 a.m. Animal complaint. 2½ Street. A report was made of a dead deer on the sidewalk. An officer arrived with the maintenance department and they loaded the animal in a truck to dispose of it.
12:31 p.m. Traffic stop. Sartell Bridge. A vehicle was witnessed traveling 43 mph in a posted 30-mph zone. The driver did not speak to the officer. He was issued a citation and released. March 31 2:27 a.m. Traffic stop. Heritage Drive. A vehicle was witnessed traveling 51 mph in a posted 40-mph zone. The driver stated he knew he was speeding. He was issued a citation and released. 2:18 p.m. Traffic stop. Pinecone Road. A vehicle was witnessed traveling 61 mph in a posted 40-mph zone. The driver stated she was aware of her speed. She was issued a citation and released. 2:41 p.m. Juvenile problem. Brookwood Lane. A report was made of a teenage boy taking his parents’ car after they told him not to. An officer arrived and spoke with the boy and was able to defuse the situation. April 1 9:49 a.m. Traffic stop. Riverside Avenue. A vehicle was witnessed traveling 46 mph in a posted 30-mph zone. The driver was unaware of her speed. She was issued a citation and
Blotter
Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com
released. 1:38 p.m. Assist St. Cloud. CR 120. A Sartell officer assisted a St. Cloud officer in the search for a possible suicidal male. The male was located and taken to St. Cloud Hospital for an evaluation. April 2 8:49 a.m. Property damage. Evergreen Road. Sometime between Sunday evening and 8 a.m., someone entered the storm shelter and caused approximately $2,300 worth of damage. April 3 9:15 a.m. Vehicle tampering. 5th Avenue E. A report was made that sometime during the overnight someone entered an unlocked vehicle. Nothing was taken from the vehicle. 1:31 p.m. Domestic. A report was made regarding a male and female screaming and fighting. Officers arrived and found a male standing outside with an infant. The mother was inside, stating that she wanted to leave and they were arguing. Both parties were able to calm down with officers’ presence and the mother left with the infant for the day.
Friday, April 19, 2013
contributed photo
Sartell artist Claire Miller, won first place in the drawing category for her pastel “The Calf” in the High School Art Exhibition and Competition.
Four Sartell artists win top awards
Four young artists in Sartell have won top awards in the High School Art Exhibition and Competition. This year 125 art works were submitted for the contest. The winning artists will be honored from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, April 20 at the Great River Regional Public Library, St. Cloud. Many of the art works are now on display there through April 22. The Sartell artists who won are Claire Miller, who won first place in the drawing category for her pastel “The Calf” (photo above); Taylor Daniels, who won first place in the oil acrylic category for her painting, “Summer Nights;” Katelyn Evenson, who won “Best of Show” for her 3-D sculpture entitled “Look at Yourself,”and Sienna Schroeder, who won the Ellingston Award for a photograph entitled “Beijing Traffic.” Miller also has five oil paintings on display at the Harvey Schroeder Painting Studio of Elk River Annual Student Exhibit at the Sherburne County Government Center in Elk River which runs until May 3. She will also have three pastels on display at the Paramount for the I Am An Artist! Teacher-Artist Residency Exhibition which runs from April 26-May 24 including her portrait entitled “Elise” which won a first-place blue ribbon for 8th-grade pastel at the Minnesota State Fair last August. The exhibit will also feature the works of one of her mentors, John Heckman, of the Riverside Art Studio and Gallery in St. Cloud. All are students at Sartell High School.
REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING SARTELL-ST. STEPHEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT 748 MARCH 25, 2013 DISTRICT CENTER BOARD ROOM c. Accept the following donations: The regular school board meeting of Independent School District 748 was called to order at 4:30 p.m. by Chair Michelle Meyer. Members present: Meyer, chair; Mary McCabe, vice chair; Jason Nies, clerk/ treaName To Donation Purpose surer; Pam Raden, Krista Durrwachter and Dan Riordan, directors; HanPine Meadow PTO District 748 Schools $111.45 Academic Extensions nah Tilstra, student member; and Joseph Hill, superintendent. Meyer thanked staff, guests and students for changing schedules to attend the board meeting and introduced Stacy Karolus, new administrative assistant to the school board. A motion was made by McCabe and seconded by Nies to amend the following items on the agenda: • Move Report Item “Review & Recommend Elementary Gifted Programming FY 2013-2014” to April 15, 2013 regular board meeting. Recognition of visitors and public forum: Allie Koroll, 333 Pine Ridge Road, Sartell, addressed the Board on the topic of revisiting the 2013-14 academic calendar/spring break. A motion was made by Riordan and seconded by Durrwachter to approve consent items a-d as presented below: a. Minutes of the meeting held on February 25, 2013. b. Checks in the amount of $1,439,049.22 as presented: General Fund 1,111,204.19 Food Service Fund 107,915.96 Transportation Fund 71,492.66 Community Service Fund 34,375.37 Capital Expenditure Fund 62,492.46 Building Fund 51,086.13 Summer Rec Agency Fund 754.68 Check numbers 151176 to 151481 Receipts in the amount of $2,780,995.37 as presented: General Fund 2,493,022.36 Food Service Fund 178,649.22 Transportation Fund 2,584.34 Community Service Fund 71,141.98 Capital Expenditure Fund 35.70 Building Fund 3,800.43 Debt Service Fund 28,666.34 Scholarship Trust 2,400.00 Summer Rec Agency Fund 695.00 Receipts 38251-38364 Wire transfers in the amount of $3,301.68 as presented: General Fund 222.96 Community Service Fund 3,078.68 Wire transfers 201200043-201200045 Midway Iron & Metal Sartell High School $87.12 Company Industrial Tech Department- welding practice
LEgal notICE
d. Accept the retirement of Terry Hurd, SMS teacher, and Gayle Swoboda, SMS art specialist, effective 5-31-13. Accept the resignation of Danelle Grosz, ORE cashier, effective 03-22-13 and Julie Blanchette, early childhood food service, 03-13-13.
Superintendent’s report: Superintendent Hill reported on: • The first day of our fourth quarter began Monday, March 25 • Thank you to the district buildings and grounds crew for their efforts and support during the winter months in clearing lots and ensuring overall safety for our students • Sartell High School’s Knowledge Bowl Team won the regional competition and is headed to the state competition • According to minnCAN, an advocacy group for schools in Minnesota, Sartell Middle School ranked second in the state for overall student performance rankings at the middle school level based on MCA data • About 40 Sartell Middle students participated in the Central Minnesota Regional Science Fair at SCSU. Sartell received the top school award for highest percent of students with top awards. • Sartell Middle School 6th-grade Math Masters Team placed first at the regional Math Masters competition. • An 8th-grader at SMS won the regional spelling bee and represented the district well at the state competition • Boys basketball made it to the state competition • Student Council won National Gold Council Award • Gymnastics and wresting had Sartell-St. Stephen students participate at the state competition • Starting the 2013-14 school year, our 5th-grade students will have the opportunity to enroll in orchestra • A plan for incoming 5th-grade students and families is being created as an orientation and welcoming opportunity to Sartell Middle School, similar to Sabre Splash • Family Library is open to all community members located at the DSC Student representative report: Student representative Hannah Tilstra, a senior at Sartell High School, reported on the high school highlights.
• Boys basketball competed in the state competition • Sartell High School Student Council held a blood drive in early March and collected 85 units of blood • Student Voice is collecting student responses to a questionnaire about the school calendar including the following questions: • Would you prefer spring break or long weekends? • What are the pros and cons of long weekends? • What are the pros and cons of spring break? These results will be reported back once they are tabulated Board • page 3
Published each Friday by Von Meyer Publishing Inc.
Publisher/Owner Janelle Von Pinnon Contributing Writers TaLeiza Calloway Mark Lauer Contributing Writer/ Administrative Assistant Cori Hilsgen Advertising Sales Assistant Kathryn Bjorke Delivery Glen Lauer
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Editor Dennis Dalman Design/Layout Tara Wiese
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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ST. JOSEPH NEWSLEADER, P.O. Box 324, St. Joseph, MN 56374.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com
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Board
from page 2
hancements that have been made during the past year.
School Board Committees: Schools for Equity in Education Committee: Mark Dayton will be in town on Tuesday, March 26 to discuss issues on education. Some topics that are currently being addressed at the legislature include: • All-day, every-day kindergarten being fully-funded by the state • Bullying legislation • Mental health issues within the schools • The impact of the new health care system on school district staffing budgets • Looking at the funding balance of districts that are propertypoor and/or property-rich • Additional funding for special education through state dollars • Operations and Finance: Received an update on the district systems’ plan. Discussed enrollment information from 2012-13 to 2018-19 school year. Discussed the preliminary budget and will hold a work session for further discussion. Reviewed the current audit process for the school district and the relationship with KDV. SMS Parent Advisory Council: Learned about the program Schoology and its functionality including grading student work, providing immediate feedback and enhanced communication. Discussed a welcoming and mentorship program for incoming 5th-graders to the middle school. Dr. Hill presented the State of the District report. Board Policy Committee: The policy committee continues to review policies on a routine basis. PME and ORE Parent-Teacher Organization: Very successful Bingo nights in March held by both PTOs. PME and ORE PTOs both hosted Dr. Hill in sharing the State of the District report. Benton-Stearns Committee: Benton-Stearns is looking to become a Positive Behavior Intervention System-sponsor for the district. Through implementing effective Response to Intervention in ROCORI, the district has seen a slight decline in special-education referrals. Sartell Senior Connection: The Sartell Senior Connection is working with the Whitney Without Walls program and collaborating programming with Whitney Senior Center for classes like yoga and tai chi. Sartell Community Resources Facility: The Community Resource Facility report will be presented on April 8 in which the city is currently looking at the present city hall site. Academic Interventions by Building: Building principals presented information about interventions that have been implemented within building programming. Calendar Committee: At last work-study session it was determined this committee will be created with staff and parents being the driving force. The focus will be the entire academic calendar. Meyer will give a report at the next meeting. Technology Implementation Plan: Kyle Breitkreutz, director of technology, presented information about the Three-Year District Technology Plan. Kindergarten Programming: Greg Johnson, principal at PME, Beth Laudenbach, PME kindergarten teacher, Sarah Gill, ORE kindergarten teacher, shared information about the kindergarten programming and en-
A motion was made by Nies and seconded by Riordan to REMOVE POLICIES 612, 617, 620, 621 and 622. All in favor. Motion carried.
A motion was made by McCabe and seconded by Riordan to HAVE SECOND READING AND APPROVE REVISED POLICIES 602, 613, 614, 615 and 616. All in favor. Motion carried.
A motion was made by Raden and seconded by Riordan to ALLOW FOR POTENTIAL BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS. All in favor. Motion carried.
A motion was made by Durrwachter and seconded by McCabe to APPROVE THE PERSONNEL OMNIBUS RESOLUTION. New Employees or Changes: Name 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Rob Notsch Greg Jamison Nicolette Benoit Amber Dziengel Karlye Barron Bldg. Position SMS SMS SMS SMS SMS 7th-grade baseball, 4.5% Junior high track, 4.5% Junior high track, 4.5% Junior high track, 4.5% Compensation Change BS1, $1,492 BS1, $1,492 BS1, $1,492 BS1, $1,492 Replacing Mark Krippner Replacing Jen Mahowald Replacing Becky Steinberg Replacing Gary Rosin Replacing Amanda Blum Replacing Nicole Maslowski Replacing Kristen Hansen Replacing Luke Sweeter New position New position
Brady Lee Finnern SMS
Junior high (7th-grade) BS1, $1,492 softball, 4.5% Junior high (7th-grade BS1, $1,492 softball), 4.5% 9th-grade softball coach, BS2, $2,106 6.35% 9th-grade 6.35% baseball, BS9, $2,538
Nicole Maslowski SHS Mike Holman Rihab Naheel SHS SHS DSC
Tutor – ESL 3 hrs. per $22.65/hour day Operations assistant $15.87/hour
10. Mallory Wetzell
Schedule Work Session and Committee Meetings: Negotiations Meeting: 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 3 Work Study Session: 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, DSC board room Policy Committee Meeting: 4:15 p.m. Thursday, April 4, DSC board room Finance and Operations: 4:15 p.m. Wednesday, April 10 The board completed official review of Policy 625.
The board had the second of three readings of proposed new Policy 905. The board made the decision to not move forward with the first of three readings of proposed new Policy 215. First reading will be made at the April meeting. The board had first of two readings of revisions of Policies: 612.1, 618 and 619.
A motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:24 p.m. was made by Raden and seconded by Riordan. All in favor. Motion carried. ___________________________________ Jason Nies, Clerk/Treasurer
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Friday, April 19, 2013
decide how LGA is distributed, city by city. Perske gave an overview of the city budget. About half of all expenditures ($2.3 million) are for “city safety,” such as fire and police protection. About 22 percent of revenue is used for public works and 15 percent goes for general government. The rest is used for such things as parks, building inspections and commercial-development processes. Progress continues on resolutions regarding the Verso paper mill, which was shut down after the explosion-fire tragedy of last year, causing the loss of nearly 200 jobs. American Iron and Metal purchased the company and intends to dismantle it and salvage most materials as recyclables and for other uses. Some big pieces of equipment
Perske
from front page
job of staying on budget. The last budget of $4.577 million was just about right on target, based on earlier projections – a fact that impressed the auditors. Sartell is doing fine financially, despite drastic reductions in state aid in recent years, Perske noted. During the last two years, Sartell received only $3,500 each year in localgovernment aid from the state while St. Cloud received about $10 million. In years past, Sartell used to receive $100,000 and more in LGA. Perske said he is optimistic Gov. Mark Dayton and the new legislature will restore fairness and consistency to the formula used to
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Friday, April 19, 2013
will be sold. What is left will be put up for public auction. The hydroelectric plant on the site will eventually be taken over by some other interest, Perske said. The office buildings at the site will also likely find a new use. AIM’s demolition and salvaging work should take about 18 months, Perske noted. This past year, 151 singlefamily homes and two multiunit living complexes were built in Sartell, as well as new commercial buildings underway – a good sign, Perske said, that Sartell is holding its own despite a sluggish economy. The bad news is 133 mostly single-family lots came up for sale because of foreclosure; 54 were sold. This year, there are 134 single-family homes up for sale due to foreclosure. A public auction will offer up those homes during the end of May
Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com
or early June. More information about the auctions is available on Stearns and Benton county websites. Perske emphasized the value of partnerships in Sartell because they contribute to progress and quality of life. The participants in such partnerships include residents, the school district, the city staff, the chamber of commerce, the many service organizations, SummerFest, the Apple Duathlon, the Sartell Community Band, the Senior Connection and so many volunteers. New things to look forward to this year in Sartell are the opening of four baseball fields and other amenities in Pinecone Central Park, the completion of the diverging-diamond interchange near Epic Center and more progress in plans for Perske • page 8
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Friday, April 19, 2013
Opinion
Many politicians held hostage by threats of gun lobbyists
Just who is our U.S. Congress representing – the gun lobbyists or the 90 percent of Americans who, in poll after poll, are strongly in favor of universal background checks for prospective gun buyers? It’s understandable, to some degree, that many people are opposed to banning the sale of military-style assault weapons, even though arguments against banning them are specious, at best. They should be banned; and there should be government buy-back programs to destroy those that now exist. Still, a ban on those kinds of weapons, designed to kill people, is not in the cards. Gun-lobbying groups, using scare tactics and threats, have convinced many politicians if they dare to vote to ban assault weapons, they will be defeated in the next election. Gun organizations like the NRA have long held sway over gutless politicians who tend to dance a tight two-step to any demands gun lobbyists put forth. If gun lobbyists think the Second Amendment is sacred, one would think intelligent legislators and Supreme Court justices (as has happened) would understand a ban on assault-style weapons is absolutely not an infringement on the “right to bear arms.” In this current Congress, a ban on those weapons is almost certainly not going to happen, leaving the NRA and other gun lobbyists to celebrate what may prove to be, in years down the road, a Pyrrhic victory. Now, getting back to background checks. The absurd gun-lobbyist arguments against them continue to be churned out. We hear such background checks are not constitutional. They’re the first step in taking away everyone’s hunting guns and self-defense weapons. Criminals and the mentally deranged won’t obey the laws anyway. Background checks, like banning guns, won’t stop violence. Ever since the slaughter of children at Newtown, Conn., it has become increasingly clear these gun-lobbying groups will fight against absolutely ANY gun restrictions, even the most sane and reasonable, such as universal background checks. These groups never bellyache about background checks on people who board airplanes, and they never make a stink about any kinds of the many checks we American citizens have to go through in so many other aspects of life: getting a driver’s license and other kinds of licenses, driving a school bus, working with children, applying for jobs and more. But when it comes to guns, “Whoa!” That’s treading on our rights! Despite the hollow arguments against background checks, the American people are not convinced by such nonsense, and they have not changed their minds. At least 90 percent still think there should be background checks, and millions of NRA members think so, too. Now, wouldn’t it be nice if all elected legislators sided with the American people for a change and not with the all-too-powerful gun lobbyists and gun manufacturers? Wouldn’t it be nice if those legislators showed some guts, some true political courage and integrity, for a change? It now appears the U.S. Senate is going to do yet another political smokescreen (called a filibuster) so any gun-control measure can’t come up for a vote. That way, those beholden to the gun lobby won’t be held accountable because no one back home will know how they would have voted. A pack of cowards. Let’s contact them. Let’s remind them their progun-lobby voting records just may backfire on them sooner than later.
Our View
April is, indeed, ‘the cruelest month’
T.S. Eliot began his 1922 poem, The Waste Land, with these words: “April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain.” Eliot had no idea what a “cruel” April is. He obviously wasn’t a Minnesotan. If he could live here this April, he’d be singing a different tune: “April is the cruelest month, piling more snow onto the frozen land, mixing misery and de-icer, shoveling hopes of spring beneath wintry drifts.” In my long life, I have never lived through an April this lousy, this unrelenting. March used to be my least favorite month because of its fickle weather, which jerks around one’s expectations – nice one day, cruddy the next. In the winter months, we expect cold weather every day, so we just bundle up and try to ignore it. What’s awful about this April, worse than the dead of winter, is its outrageous unexpectedness. It has been so gloomydoomy that even the most descriptive Minnesota weather whiners stutter and stammer while trying to describe it. “This weather is, um, it’s, it’s – just – um, UNBEARABLE,” a store clerk blurted out the other day. What’s amusing is how those glass-is-
Dennis Dalman
Editor
half-full folks go around saying cheer-up things such as, “Oh well, we’ll all by complaining about the heat by June.” Or: “Yup, lotta snow, but we can sure use the moisture.” Moisture yes, but not so much snow that my front yard looks like the foothills of the Himalayas. Just imagine people back in Noah’s time saying, as it began to rain and kept raining, “Yup, lotta rain, but we can sure use the moisture.” My sister, Mary, suffers from seasonal affective disorder. The other day, she vowed through clenched teeth, “If ONE more person gives me that we-could-usethe-moisture CRAP, I’m gonna SMACK him right across his face!” Whoa, Mary, whoa! Cheer up. Just remember, you’ll soon be bickering about the heat, hopefully not from a jail cell. Each morning, right after waking up, I usually enjoy opening all the window blinds to greet the sights of morning, even in the winter. Not lately, though. When I open them now, I frown and groan. This morning’s newspaper headline was a real hoot:
“Less snow than predicted for St. Cloud area.” That must have been written by one of those glass-is-half-full folks. Less snow. What good news. Gee, ain’t you glad? Just now, as I’m writing this, as I heard my furnace kick in yet again, I glanced out of my home-office window. It’s Sunday, April 14, 8:10 a.m. It’s snowing. Again. The “less snow” has begun. We’re supposed to get “only” one or two inches today, but I’m not holding my breath. There’s a snowstorm brewing out West, roaring this way. A “lesser” blizzard, I presume. For years, we baby boomers have been claiming the seasons, like the old gray mare, just ain’t what they used to be. Seasonal patterns are way out of whack. It’s probably caused by global warming, although some of the global-warming disbelievers, who do not understand global warming, are saying things such as, “If global warming is real, then how come this April is so cold?” Even the poor birds are confused. The neighbors’ yard is often filled with twitching, twittering birds, fluttering onto the snow-draped bird feeders. They seem as baffled as we do. And speaking of birds, for years I used to laugh about the human snowbirds fleeing South for the winter. “Winter wimps,” I called them. Not anymore. Not this April. If I could take off work to fly to Hawaii, I’d be on that plane by noon today. Farewell, April. Hello, Honolulu.
Reader suggests alternatives to ‘If not Obamacare, then what?’
Courtney Goulet, Sartell Mr. Dalman, as a response to your recent article about Obamacare, I would like to tell you I am surprised you are very against Michelle Bachmann who is trying to not allow Obamacare to pass, yet by the end of your article, you don’t appear to be sold on the idea yourself. You said yourself it’s only a better-thannothing plan and you are crossing your fingers hoping it will succeed. If you are looking for any alternatives, have you tried watching any of the speeches and interviews with Dr. Benjamin Carson? First, I want to state I am not ignorant of our countries problems, and I have done my research on which country’s health care serves the most amount of people. But there is far more to the issue than just giving services away to people. It’s about maintaining hard-working productive Americans who can work together in unity to preserve the freedoms our forefathers fought so hard for. Right now so many of those freedoms and rights are slipping away right before our very eyes, yet they are disguised as created equal human rights for everyone. Just stop and think for a moment what Obamacare will do. The plan is to take away the money from the rich through higher taxation to pay for the poor. Wouldn’t it just be far better to make it affordable for all Americans regardless of their salary to be able to pay for their own services? If we are to create wise responsible Americans who can give back to their country, we need to stop giving free handouts to everyone at the expense of others. You will never be able to eliminate the poor in this country by eliminating the rich. If you try to level out the money, like Obama is doing, that will only cause division with the rich and laziness with the poor. That is one way we will bring our country to ruin. Jesus once wisely said, “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.” (Mark 3:24 NIV) This statement was very true with the kingdom of Rome. When the people were pitted against each other and each was only interested in his own selfish desires, they destroyed themselves. Even your article causes anger among people reading it. You are very much entitled to your own opinion and the freedom to speak your mind, but be very careful because creating enmity will only destroy our nation. I do not want people living in anxiety, going broke or suffering because of lack of health care, but I think a good way to cut costs is first to use less invasive (more natural) procedures. When we let the body take care of itself and use less drugs and surgeries, there is less chance of malpractice, which would reduce costs. A very large part of our health-care costs have been with chemotherapy treatments that do not have a very high success rate, yet because they are making the doctors and the pharmaceuticals money, they continue to use them. The biggest problem I see in this whole mess is greed for money. That is why they have had so many malpractice cases lately because patients are very quick to sue for malpractice because then they get money out of it. The reason we have malpractice problems also is because in medical school, we are taught what is best for the doctor community rather than what is best for the human body. This greed for money is all stemmed from our sin problem, which cannot be eliminated. Perhaps a good way to eliminate the sky-high malpractice insurance is not to allow them to sue for millions of dollars. If instead those victims of malpractice were just given free services to fix the problems the malpractice caused, we would not have to have health-insurance costs so high. Another good solution would be to encourage more natural remedies that do not require drugs with negative side effects; we have less necessary visits to the doctor, which would lower health-care costs. They could even offer discounts for people who live a more healthy lifestyle as a motivation. This is a solution that will work far better than Obamacare.
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Friday, April 19, 2013
Friday, April 19 Art History, 1-2 p.m., Whitney Senior Center, 1527 Northway Drive, St. Cloud. 320-255-7245. “Fiddler on the Roof,” 7 p.m., Sartell High School, 748 7th St. N., Sartell. Sabres All Sports Booster Club Spring Social, 8-11 p.m., Blackberry Ridge, 3125 Clubhouse Road, Sartell, 320-257-4653.
Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com
Monday, April 22 Blood drive, noon-6 p.m., St. Cloud Blood Donation Center, 1301 W. St. Germain St. Cloud 1-800-RED CROSS or redcrossblood.org. Sock Knitting Workshop, 5:30-8 p.m., Al Ringsmuth Public Library, 253 5th Ave. N. Waite Park. Registration required. 320-253-9359. Sartell City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall. 320-253-2171. Wednesday, April 24 “We-R-Artists” a networking for artists with disabilities, 5-7 p.m., Paramount Visual Arts Center, 913 West St. Germain St., St. Cloud. 320-230-9412. Thursday, April 25 Coffee and Conversation, a senior discussion group, 9 a.m., Country Manor, Sartell. Dealing with Mid- to Late-Stage Alzheimer’s and Dementia, 6:30-8 p.m., Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 4310 C.R. 137, St. Cloud. 320-257-0699.
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Community Calendar
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Sartell area Youth BaSketBall aSSociation
Registration for 2013-2014 SAYBA Travel Basketball Grades 4-8 is now open.
Online registration and printable forms are available on the SAYBA website at www.saybabball.org.
Saturday, April 20 Scout Expo 2013, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Sartell Middle School North Gym, 627 3rd Ave N, Sartell. 320-656-3701. “Fun Fest,” a Sartell Student Council fundraiser, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Sartell High School, 748 7th St. N., Sartell. 320-828-1782. “Fiddler on the Roof,” 12:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., Sartell High School, 748 7th St. N., Sartell. Celebrations 2013, a scholarship benefit concert, 7:30 p.m., Stewart Hall, St. Cloud State University campus. www.scsutickets.com or 320-308-3223.
Seamstress Barbara Howard – expert bridal- and formal-wear alterations; master tailoring for men’s, women’s and military; alterations, repairs, mending and custom sewing; and theatrical and historical re-enactment costuming. By appointment, 320-310-2024. 9-14x-p.
SEAMSTRESS
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Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com
Sauk River Regional Park. Perske noted in a recent resident-satisfaction survey, at least seven/eighths of respondents rated city services to be
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Friday, April 19, 2013
ing-biking trails are there in the city? 5. How many single-family homes are in Sartell that are unoccupied? 6. How many building inspections occur each year in the city? 7. How many miles of roadways are maintained by the City of Sartell. Answers: 1. Tuesdays. 2. About $7,000. 3. 40. 4. About 50 miles. 5. 453. 6. 5,483. 7. About 96 miles.
enthusiastic” about having a spring break. Most respondents indicated they were not interested in the “spring break” topic or were neutral in how they feel about it. A survey conducted by highschool students showed overwhelming support for a spring break.
Dri veOp thru en!
Perske
from page 5
from “good” to “excellent.” Perske closed his informal talk with these words: “It takes great people to have a great city.”
SARTELL LIONS Cleanup!
Sartell SartellMiddle MiddleSchool School Parking Parking Lot Saturday, •• 88 a.m. - 12 Noon Saturday,April April24 27 a.m. - Noon
Pickup/Trailer or Equivalent $90/ea. Office/Business Furniture $20/ea. Air Conditioners & Home Appliances $20/ea. Couches/Stuffed Chairs $20/ea. Mattresses/Box Springs $20/ea. Commercial Appliances $20/ea. Fluorescent Bulbs $3/ea. Car Batteries $3/ea. Tires $10-$30/ea. Computers/TVs/Electronics 30¢/lb.
For more information go to www.e-clubhouse.org/sites/sartell
As a prelude to Perske’s speech, he decided to give his listeners a “pop quiz.” The following are the questions, followed by the answers: 1. What is the busiest days of the week for fire calls to the Sartell-Le Sauk Fire Department? 2. What’s is the average cost of snow-plowing city roads on a weekday? 3. How many parks are there in Sartell? 4. How many miles of hik-
Break
from front page
spring break. Another plus for spring break came from an online survey in the district. Nearly 40 percent of the 1,700 respondents said they were “very
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